The pomodoro technique

The pomodoro technique is a study technique developed by an italian engineer Francesco Cirillo in the 80s, but I'm pretty sure that the basis for the technique has been around for a long time. Basically the concept is that you set a timer, and work undistracted for the duration of that timer. This is followed by a short break, then another work session. You work on a task for four work sessions before taking a long break. Usually when beginning, I start with 15 minutes work sessions and 3 minute short breaks. I also write down questions and distractions and deal with them later. As I get better I stretch the sessions out to 25 minutes.

At various times in my life I have tried to use this technique and to varying degrees of success it has worked. For example it works well for thesis writing, paper writing, studying for tests (combined with some other methods like reviewing what you learned in the worm sessions) and data analysis. The technique does not work so well for me when reading, coding ( it's hard to break the flow) or learning new methods.

The hardest parts about implmenting the technique are:

1) remaining undistracted
2) sticking to the short break times

This brings me to my challenge for the upcoming week. I want to be able to carve out 12 pomodoro sessions of 20 minutes per day and stick with it!!